Friday, September 5, 2008

My emotions are very mixed right now, and in a lot of ways, it is sad for me to report that I've decided to call off the rest of the hike on the Pacific Crest Trail for this year. I'm currently in the town of Sisters, Oregon, looking for a place to live and thinking about my future. Jokingly, I've told some people that I'm actually homeless right now, so one of my top priorities is to find a place to rent and get settled back into "Town Living." I'm not sure it will be an easy transition, considering that I've been on the road or on the trail since February 2008
!

There were a lot of factors for me to consider as I made the decision to leave the trail. I still have some work to do to complete my federal and state income taxes, and I really want to get them finished and submitted before my extension expires in the middle of October. I also had a very cold and wet night on a ridge on Mt. Hood last Saturday Evening.

So, for now, I'll resume a normal "city" life here in Sisters, Oregon. I'm already making my plans to finish the PCT in 2009 (I have about 800 miles of the trail to finish).

I'm not calling this endeavor a failure by any means. I did walk over 2,000 miles to get from Mexico to Sisters, and I rode my bike over 3,000 miles from Florida to California. Along the way, I lost over 50 pounds, and I discovered a lot about myself. I had a lot of time to think about important things, like a couple of books that I've written outlines for, what I want to do in the future, some projects I'd like to volunteer some time towards, and some other "self-improvement" activities I'd like to work on. I think I have enough to keep me very busy for at least the next 12 months anyway!

Sometime in the next week or two, I'll be adding a number of additional photos and stories to the blog, so do check back from time to time to see what I've added.

Thanks, also, for all the good thoughts and prayers that you've been sending my way. They made a big difference!